WASHINGTON — Christmas came early at the National Gallery of Art, which has received Vincent van
Gogh’s
Green Wheat Fields, Auvers from the estate of museum benefactor Paul Mellon.

The painting, which went on display yesterday, hangs between two other van Gogh works: the still
life
Roses and the portrait
La Mousme. Green WheatFields, Auvers, depicting the French countryside, was painted months before the artist’s
death in 1890.

During the spring of 1890, van Gogh painted many “pure landscapes” following his voluntary
confinement in an asylum. Mary Morton, curator of French paintings at the museum, says the
tranquillity of
Green Wheat Fields, Auvers runs counter to the narrative of a tormented van Gogh, whose
struggle with mental illness ended in suicide.

“He was struggling with mental illness but seemed to take comfort in nature toward the end of
his life,” Morton said, calling the painting “a final gasp.” Morton also notes that, unlike many of
his landscapes — which include buildings, stone walls and trees — this work eliminated figures,
depicting only wind-blown grasses and clouds.